Multiplayer FPS Rising Storm 2: Vietnam is getting an ambitious 64-player campaign that spans 11 battles. Between battles, each side votes on tactical decisions, such as where to attack, where to defend, and what faction they want to put on the frontline.

To win, you have to capture every territory on the overall tactical map or accrue more victory points, which you gain for winning individual maps. As you proceed through the battles, spread over 11 years, the equipment and commander abilities for both the northern and southern Vietnamese forces will change to reflect the real-life technological advancements and political events that happened during the Vietnam War.

Each side will have a special ability that will grant "unique, asymmetric advantages for a single battle", but they can only use it once every three battles. That should throw up some interesting tactical decisions: in a close campaign, do you counter your enemy's ability with your own, or wait until the enemy has used theirs so you get a clear shot?

Merry Christmas everybody! big thanks to staff, contributors, and participants like you for keeping this community going. special shoutout to shywolf for making the above image and thus inspiring this post.

2018 is winding down. for me, it was a life-changing heartbreaker, but good things happened too. i traveled a lot - experienced unforgettable and often unexpected realizations, and in the process learned more about myself and this complicated little world we all share. (if ever you have an opportunity to travel, please do yourself that favor, and then travel even more when you can again because the gained awareness that comes from it is totally worthwhile. well, i guess that's... advice?)

i like this photo because the road sign is a reminder that horizons aren't always as they initially seem. if only life itself was that predictable! ...captured in Phuket, Thailand.

looking forward into 2019, my commitments to aloha.pk and Build and Shoot will continue. i'm wanting to also build unrelated ideas i've been brainstorming over the years that might interest some of you. i'll explain more about any of that when i'm ready.

2019 expenses
the donation meter (located on the right side column of the front page of aloha.pk) has been updated to reflect our estimated annual expenses for the upcoming year of 2019, which will add up to $705 USD if current services remain the same. fortunately, we already have a head start of $118, or 17% of 2019's expected total expenses, thanks to the community's generosity in 2018. the excess donations that weren't consumed in 2018 will be applied towards 2019 expenses, and the 2019 meter has been adjusted to show that.

big huge mahalos to the following community members for their 2018 contributions, sorted first by today's USD conversion value then alphabetically:

it's definitely not for everyone, but on-the-spot travel planning is the best kind of travel for me. maybe just enough research beforehand to get a general gist about an area, and a prebooked place to stay for at least the first couple nights sure takes off a lot of stress upon arrival. too much planning can be stressful, too inflexible, and just outright boring. so much more fun when unexpected adventures happen on the spot!

for example, what was supposed to be only a few hours of driving to watch sunrise over Phang Nga Bay, Thailand:

...unexpectedly turned into a free all-day adventure floating through the bay... with a full-on buffet included! that happened because i saw a "pier" sign on the return drive and i decided at the last second to just check it out. why not? and while observing the bay from the pier, my new friend who was with me (we met and clicked a few days prior) was offered the prepaid seats of a couple who was exiting a boat that was about to depart for the day tour because they changed their minds. that same couple coincidentally saw us earlier watching the sun rise from the top of the hill. he asked me if i'm up for it, i nodded yes, so we parked our motors right there on the pier, and literally stepped onto the boat as it was pulling away.

that day became the highlight of that trip. it wouldn't have happened if i had made too many plans.
January 13, 2019, 03:08:44 PM HST